AU2016262775A1

AU2016262775A1 - Gutter bracket

Info

Publication number: AU2016262775A1
Application number: AU2016262775A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Walter Leslie Bushell; Bradley Nelson Haydar
Original assignee: INTERIT Pty Ltd
Current assignee: INTERIT Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2008-10-02
Filing date: 2016-11-25
Publication date: 2016-12-15
Also published as: NZ571719A; AU2009222483A1

Abstract

A gutter bracket as described to provide a stand-off distance between a gutter and a fascia supporting the bracket. The gutter bracket may comprise a rear plate member and an upper and lower shelf wherein each 5 shelf extends forwardly of the plate. A bridge extends from the upper shelf to a support arm extending outwardly from the bridge and adapted to receive a gutter. A rear wall of the gutter is placed in abutting contact with anterior strip surfaces of the shelves and may be held in position by teeth on a first downward segment of the arm. The arm may extend in a finger adapted to 10 engage an outer and upper hollow stiffening rib of a gutter or gutter channel. 2978054v1

Description

TITLE

GUTTER BRACKET FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to support apparatus for gutter channels around buildings. In particular, the invention relates to a gutter bracket for supporting a gutter channel so as to diminish the risk of inflow flooding when the gutter channel is at its capacity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gutter channels have traditionally been used to direct and collect water flow off roofs. Gutter channels are arranged around a periphery of a roof and are installed with a selected fall towards an outlet such as a downpipe. Control and direction of the water flow avoids damage to surrounding property, provides the opportunity for collecting and storing water, and maintains a system of orderly flow characteristics around a building, be it a residence or a commercial property.

Gutters provide a highly significant finish to a building particularly one in which there is an emotional involvement, such as a residence. Gutters provide an aesthetic element to the outward appearance of the building as well as providing an owner or decorator with the opportunity to define a colour contrast to both the roof and walls of the building.

In keeping with this gutter aesthetic, there has evolved a trend to provide gutters with high front walls to avoid any mismatch in the visual appearance between the gutter and the line of the roof.

One of the problems that arise from this trend is the fact that the front upper edge of the gutter is higher than the back upper edge of the gutter. There have been some attempts to avoid problems with this by providing longitudinal slots in the front gutter wall to thereby disperse any excess water content from the gutter channel during heavy downpours. However, this has not proved effective in all circumstances. The end result is that in heavy rainfall periods, water accumulates in the gutter channel to a depth that overwhelms the combined back edge of the gutter and the fascia to which it is attached. This damming effect leads to an inflow of water over the top of the fascia and into eaves and even into the building surrounded by the particular gutter arrangement.

This may lead to flooding and damage to both ceiling panels and walls in the house.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, although it need not be the only or the broadest aspect, the invention may reside in a gutter bracket comprising: a rear plate member; an upper shelf; a lower shelf, spaced from the upper shelf; each shelf extending forwardly of the plate member and having an anterior strip surface adapted to abut a rear wall of a gutter channel; a bridge extending from the upper shelf; and a support arm extending from the bridge, the support arm formed by a downwardly directed first segment, a laterally extending intermediate segment continuous with the downward segment and an anterior segment extending forwardly and upwardly, the anterior segment terminating in a finger adapted to engage a hollow stiffening rib situated on an outside upper edge of a gutter.

The plate is preferably planar. It may include one or more apertures for fixing to a fascia or similar functional position on a building.

The plate member preferably terminates upwardly in at least one lip and preferably two lips spaced by the bridge. The lips are adapted to act as a stop for the upward movement of an upper rearward edge of a gutter.

The lower shelf preferably extends from the plate at an angle in the range of 80-100 degrees although any sufficient angle may be suitable. The upper shelf preferably slopes upwardly between around 30-60 degrees although any suitable angle may be used for discharging the function of the arrangement.

The anterior surface of the upper shelf preferably terminates in at least one lip configured to stop an upper edge of a gutter wall.

Preferably there are two lips separated by the bridge.

The bridge is preferably formed as a part circular curve configured to align the downward first segment approximately parallel to the rear plate and at a distance forward of the anterior surfaces of the shelves less than the width of a gutter wall. This provides the capacity to spring a gutter wall between the first segment and the anterior surfaces of the upper and lower shelves to provide a retentive force on the wall of the gutter.

In a preferred embodiment, the first segment includes one or more teeth adapted to engage the rear gutter wall and resist its movement. The teeth preferably converge upwardly to a point to better facilitate upward movement of the rear gutter wall and resist downward movement once in position.

The laterally extending intermediate segment of the arm may be approximately horizontal.

The anterior segment of the arm preferably extends upwardly and outwardly and to a point above the upper most point of the bridge to thereby allow support of a high front wall gutter. The intermediate segment and anterior segment may be collinear.

The gutter bracket may further include one or preferably two, straps extending upwardly and deformable to wrap around the fascia and or rear gutter wall. The one or more straps may be notched for controlled deformation.

The gutter bracket may further comprise a cutter support extending from the lower shelf.

In a further aspect, the invention may reside in a method of mounting a gutter to a building, the method comprising the steps of: 1. fixing a gutter bracket to a fascia on the building or similar functional position, the gutter bracket substantially as described above; 2. locating an outer stiffening hollow rib of the gutter over a finger of a support arm of the gutter bracket; 3. rotating the gutter so that its rear wall inserts between a downward first segment of the gutter bracket and in abutting contact with an upper and lower shelf of the gutter bracket; and 4. positioning the rear wall in appropriate position in relation to a slope for the gutter to provide water flow in a preferred direction.

The method may include the step of engaging one or more teeth in the downward first segment with an anterior surface of the rear gutter wall.

The method may further include urging the rear wall of the gutter upwardly until in contact with one or more stops formed on the gutter bracket.

In yet a further aspect, the invention may reside in an arrangement comprising a plurality of gutter brackets as described above and a gutter in position on the plurality of gutter brackets.

In still a further aspect, the invention may reside in a building incorporating at least one gutter bracket according to the above description and at least one gutter in position and supported at least partially, by the at least one gutter bracket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a front perspective view of a gutter bracket according to the present invention. FIG 2 is a rearward perspective view of the gutter bracket of FIG 1. FIG 3 is a side view of the gutter bracket of FIG 1. FIG 4 is a rear view of the gutter bracket of FIG 1. FIG 5 is a front view of the gutter bracket of FIG 1. FIG 6 is a side sectional view of the gutter bracket of FIG 1 in position on a fascia and supporting a gutter. FIG 7 shows a front perspective view of a further embodiment of a gutter bracket. FIG 8 is a front view of the gutter bracket of FIG 7. FIG 9 is a side view of the gutter bracket of FIG 7. FIG 10 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of a gutter bracket. FIG 11 is a front view of the gutter bracket of FIG 10. FIG 12 is a side view of the gutter bracket of FIG 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIG 1 there is a seen a gutter bracket 10 comprising a rear plate 20 and support arm 30. The rear plate 20 has a planar section 21 and an upper shelf 22 and a lower shelf 23. The lower shelf 23 is formed substantially as a right angular anteriorly directed feature. The lower shelf may extend forwardly at any suitable angle and may, if preferred, be in the range of 80-110 degrees. The lower shelf terminates in a strip 24 with an anterior surface adapted to receive a rear surface of a gutter.

The plate 20 also has an upper shelf 22 with a strip 25 also adapted to receive a rear surface of a gutter. The upper shelf 22 extends forwardly and upwardly from the plate section 21 preferably in the range of approximately 30-60 degrees although any suitable angle may be used.

The end effect of the two shelves is that they provide a stand off from the plate section. When the bracket is located on a fascia the two strips 24, 25 are some distance anterior to the contact point with the fascia thereby providing a gap between an anterior surface of the fascia and a rearward surface of the gutter. The distance forward may be any suitable distance but is preferably a minimum 10 mm. A bridge 26 is provided between the rear plate 20 and arm 30. The bridge is formed substantially as a three quarter circle and is continuous with a first downwardly directed segment 31 of the arm 30. The first segment is approximately parallel with the plate section 21 but positioned so that a gutter wall must be urged into contact with the strips 24, 25 and a rearward surface of the downward segment 31 when in position. The shape of the bridge allows a spring effect so that the downward section 31 may be resiliently distorted to receive a gutter wall before being released or self positioning in a tensioned contact with the gutter wall. The first segment 31 includes a plurality of teeth 32 which converge upwardly and provide a backwardly directed tooth or teeth to better engage the anterior surface of the rearward wall of a gutter. These teeth allow the incremental adjustment of the gutter wall upwards or downwards. The upwards movement of the rearward wall is limited by lips 27, 28 which act as a stop for upward movement and define the limit of travel in that direction.

The first segment 31 is continuous with intermediate segment 33 which in turn is continuous with anterior segment 34 which terminates in finger 35. In one embodiment the intermediate segment and anterior segment may be linear with only one angle positioned formed between the first segment and the intermediate segment. Apertures 29 are formed in the rear plate 20 to facilitate passage of a fixing means such as a screw, rivet or similar. FIG 3 shows a side view of the gutter bracket 10 which better shows the stand off effect of the plate 20 and shelves 22, 23. This view also highlights the fact that the first segment 31 is relatively closely spaced to the strips 24, 25 of the shelves 22, 23 in an anterior/posterior direction. FIG 4 is a rear view of the gutter bracket 10 and FIG 5 is a front view of the same arrangement both with a portion of the arm shown in outline. The rear view in FIG 4 shows reinforcing ribs 37, 38 on the bridge. These ribs are also apparent in FIG 5 and are positioned marginally on the support arm to provide strength in its operation. The ribs are formed as an inverted U channel structure in a lateral section of each side of the arm. FIG 6 shows the gutter bracket 10 as previously described with a gutter 40 in position. An upper stiffening rib channel 41 of the gutter 40 is initially located over the finger 35 after positioning of the bracket 10 on fascia 50. The fascia may be a conventional metal fascia system and the bracket may be screwed, riveted, or otherwise attached to its interior section. Alternatively, the bracket may be fixed to a traditional wooden fascia or other arrangements such as the end of the roof frame. The gutter 40 has an anterior wall 42, horizontal section 43, and rear wall 44. The gutter is hung off the finger 35 and then rotated in position so that the rear wall inserts between the first downward segment 31 and its teeth 32 and the strips 24, 25 of the upper shelf 22 and lower shelf 23. The arrangement of the shelves means that the posterior wall 44 is “stood off” from the fascia 50. The lower shelf 23 provides a longitudinal lateral support to a bottom section 45 of the gutter 40. Likewise, the upper shelf 22 provides a longitudinal support to an upper edge of the rear wall 44 so as to support it in a significant fashion. The two shelves provide a stable support to the rear wall thereby benefiting the entirety of the gutter support system in tandem with the arm 30. Water accumulating in the gutter 40 will rise to a topmost section 27 of the bridge 26 before flowing backwards to the fascia 50 and then dropping between the rear wall 44 of the gutter 40 and the anterior wall 51 of the fascia 50.

The present invention provides an arrangement for directing water flow anterior to the fascia and away from the eaves and inside area of a building.

The invention may extend to a combination of the gutter bracket and a gutter and also to a building incorporating the fascia, gutter bracket and gutter.

In a further aspect, the invention may also extend to a method involving the steps of a fixing a gutter bracket to a fascia, the gutter bracket formed according to the above description including the steps of; hanging a gutter from the support arm with a hollow reinforcing rib of the gutter engaging a finger of the support arm; and rotating a rear wall of the gutter into tensioned contact with a rear wall of the first segment of the arm and anterior surfaces of strips of the upper and lower shelves. The gutter may then be adjusted into preferred position for effective water flow. FIGS 7, 8 and 9 show a further embodiment of a gutter bracket 60 with features similar to FIG 1. Flowever, the embodiment includes two straps, 61,62 extending upwardly. The straps are deformable and adapted to be bent one backwards over a fascia and one forwards over a rear wall of a gutter. This may assist in positioning and supporting a gutter during and after installation. In one application, the strap into the gutter may be fixed to the rear wall of the gutter by riveting, screwing and gluing.

Notches 63, are provided to allow controlled deformation of the straps. The bridge comprises a base 65 and overhang 64. The bridge 64, 65 extends from the upper shelf via its base 65. In this case the intermediate segment and anterior segment are formed as a single finger 66. It is to be understood that any suitable support arm arrangement may be utilised. Further in stating the bridge extends from the upper shelf it is to be understood that the bridge may extend directly or indirectly from the upper shelf. It is in general considered the bridge will be above the upper shelf and formed integrally with the rest of the bracket.

The notches 63 also form a stop for an upper edge of the gutter rear wall as when the strap is bent forward, the bend as at a pre-determined position. In this embodiment, there are no lips to stop upward passage of the gutter. In this case the lower shelf 67 extends into bottom support 68 designed to sit under the gutter. The bottom support is formed as two angled panels which correspond to the gutter contour. FIGS 10 to 12 show a further embodiment of a gutter bracket 80 which is very similar to the previous embodiment. The straps 81, 82 are provided for a similar operation. In this case however the bottom support is a single panel extending horizontally to support a right angled gutter corner.

Throughout the specification the aim has been to describe the preferred embodiments of the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features. It will therefore be appreciated by those of skill in the art that, in light of the instant disclosure, various modifications and changes can be made in the particular embodiments exemplified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A gutter bracket comprising: a rear plate member; an upper shelf; a lower shelf, spaced from the upper shelf, each shelf extending forwardly of the rear plate member and having an anterior strip surface adapted to abut a rear wall of a gutter; a bridge above the upper shelf; and a support arm extending from the bridge and adapted to engage a gutter.
2. The gutter bracket of claim 1 wherein the support arm is formed by a downwardly directed first segment, a laterally extending intermediate segment continuous with the first segment and an anterior segment extended forwardly and upwardly, the anterior segment terminating in a finger adapted to engage a hollow stiffening rib situated on an outside upper edge of a gutter.
3. The gutter bracket of claim 1 wherein the rear plate member is planar.
4. The gutter bracket of claim 1 wherein the bridge extends directly or indirectly from the upper shelf.
5. The gutter bracket of claim 3 wherein the rear plate member includes one or more apertures for fixing to a fascia or similar functional position on a building.
6. The gutter bracket of claim 1 wherein the rear plate member terminates upwardly in at least one lip adapted to stop the upward movement of an upper rearward edge of a gutter.
7. The gutter bracket of claim 6 wherein the plate terminates in two lips spaced by the bridge.
8. The gutter bracket of claim 1 wherein the lower shelf extends from the plate at an angle in the range of 80 to 100 degrees and the upper shelf slopes upwardly between 30 to 60 degrees.
9. The gutter bracket of claim 1 wherein the bridge is formed as a circular curve configured to align the downward first segment approximately parallel to the rear plate and at a distance forward of the anterior surfaces of the shelves less than the width of a gutter wall.
10. The gutter bracket of any one of the preceding claims wherein the first segment includes one or more teeth adapted to engage a rear wall of a gutter and resist its movement.
11. The gutter bracket of any claim 2 wherein the anterior segment of the support arm extends upwardly and outwardly to a point above the upper most point of the bridge to allow support of a high wall front wall gutter.
12. The gutter bracket of claim 1 further including at least one strap extending upwardly and adapted for deformation around the rear wall of the gutter or the fascia.
13. The gutter bracket of claim 12 wherein the at least one strap is notched.
14. The gutter bracket of claim 1 further comprising a bottom support.
15. A method of mounting a gutter to a building, the method comprising the steps of: fixing a bracket to a fascia on the building; locating an outer stiffening hollow rib of the gutter over a finger of a support arm of the bracket; rotating the gutter so that its rear wall inserts between a downward first segment of a bracket and in abutting contact with an upper and lower shelf of the bracket; and positioning the rear wall in appropriate position for the gutter to provide water flow in a preferred direction.
16. The method of claim 15 further including the step of engaging one or more teeth in a downward first segment of the support arm with an anterior surface of the rear gutter wall.
17. The method of claim 15 further including the step of urging the rear wall of the gutter upwardly until in contact with one or more stops formed on the gutter bracket.
18. An arrangement comprising a fascia and a gutter bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 14.
19. A building including at least one gutter bracket according to any one claims 1 to 14 and at least one gutter in position supported by the at least one gutter bracket.
20. A gutter bracket as substantially as described herein with reference to the figures.